Cultural Genocide on Uighur Muslims

Beijing’s attempt to strip Uighur Muslims of their identity, of their religion and of what they stand for is nothing short of a cultural genocide.

[Tasnim Nazeer | Fair Observer]

According to numerous reports by human rights groups and the media, over a million Uighur Muslims are being held in detention camps in China’s Xinjiang province as part of the government’s crackdown against the ethnic minority. As world leaders remain largely silent on the issue, human rights abuses continue unabated, with Uighur Muslims being made to denounce their faith and identity, and embrace the Chinese Communist Party. In this so-called re-education program, inmates are isolated from their families, subjected to brainwashing and in some cases torture, with reports of deaths in detention.

Uighurs visiting China have been placed in internment camps, with cases of 17 missing Australian Uighur Muslims coming to light just last month. Claims by Chinese officials that these “vocational training centers” are an attempt to tackle religious extremism are contradicted by countless examples that prove this is far form the truth.

The Xinjiang Autonomous Uighur Region, as it is officially known, is home to some 8 million Turkic-speaking Uighurs, with a history of unrest and discord between the Chinese authorities, the ethnic Han majority and the Uighur Muslim population, which has been kept under tight controls and restrictions. The Republic of East Turkestan briefly called for independence in 1949 before being absorbed into Communist China. In an attempt to restrict Uighur Muslims from following their faith or expressing their identity, China introduced policies that include legislation prohibiting Islamic names. In July 2014, the Xinjiang government banned Uighur Muslims from fasting during the holy month of Ramadan and has cracked down on mosques and Islamic schools.